NAVTEQ affected by economic downturn
Nokia today announced its financial results for the first quarter 2009 and among these, the performance of its subsidiary, digital map maker NAVTEQ. “[in the] first quarter 2009 NAVTEQ net sales decreased 36% sequentially to EUR 132 million, compared with EUR 205 million in the fourth quarter 2008, reflecting a sharp decline in demand for auto navigation systems and mobile navigation devices due to the challenging macroeconomic environment, and destocking,” stated Nokia’s press release.
Part of the 36% decline is obviously due to a seasonality effect (better sales in Q4 than Q1), but not all as explained by the Nokia press release. While Nokia does not make comparison against NAVTEQ’s results in the first quarter 2008 – the company was acquired later – it is interesting to remind that its quarterly revenue was $224.5 million. Assuming a 1Q08 average USD/Euro rate of $1.50 (source:NAVTEQ), it meant €150 million, therefore a 12% revenue decline on a year on year basis.
